Philippine election - May the people's will prevail

Less than one month from now, the Philippines will have a newly elected president. At this time, we can only speculate and wish that whoever takes over the presidency will provide the country and its people new hope and inspiration.

I had voted a few times when I was still in the Philippines. My parents instilled in me a sense of civic duty and I did not want to waste it. I remember the first time I voted. We lived in Kalookan City and during those early years, Election Day was like a fiesta. Campaign teams were all over the streets distributing pamphlets and election promotional give-aways like pens, t-shirts, bags and more. There were jeepneys on the streets with loudspeakers reminding people to go out and vote, playing music loud enough to wake up and annoy anyone who may be taking his afternoon siesta. It was a fun day. As the hours passed, the fiesta atmosphere faded with the setting sun.  The precincts closed and the manual counting began.

What happened next crushed my noble expectations of my first voting experience. There was a total black out – the neighbourhood lost its electricity. In the public school near our house, loud noise believed to be the sound of gunshots being fired was heard. Everyone stayed put at home. After thirty minutes passed – which at that time seemed like hours – electricity was restored, and the manual counting of the election ballots resumed. We were also told that no one was hurt among those who were watching the counting of the election returns. No one offered any explanation. Whatever happened during those long 30 minutes remained a secret.

Many years later, I was no longer as naïve as I was during that election day when I first exercised my right to vote. Everybody knew there were many unsolved cases of ballot boxes being taken and exchanged with pre-filled ballots during electrical blackouts in the community. Even worse, many lives would be lost. One wonders why people would commit such heinous crimes for the sake of their candidates. Some ordinary citizens had become so jaded that they didn’t even care to go out and spend time to vote. But many still believed and fought for truth and justice. Many of them died for the cause.

Philippine elections are still characterized by its fiesta and frenzied atmosphere but it has also been known to be fraught with fraud, cheating and violence.

At least 50 million voters are expected to participate. Many are hopeful that this upcoming election will be different. The first ever-automated electoral exercise in the Philippines will be conducted on May 10th. That means, if everything goes without any glitch, the results will be known in a matter of hours instead of weeks and even months of delay that characterized past elections.

Are the citizens ready for this exciting change? Will the non-winning candidates be ready to accept their defeat in a matter of hours after the closing of the voting precincts?

Canada will be sending a 22-member delegation to observe the Philippine election on May 10th. It is called the People’s International Observers Mission and their objective is to “monitor and investigate electoral fraud and violence… and to assure that voters are protected and free to vote according to their conscience and that democratic processes are fully respected.”

The United Kingdom and other countries will be sending their own delegation to observe as well.

Who will be the next Philippine president? May the people’s will prevail. We will wait.

From Manila to Manitoba...

Our young friends from ANAK Inc. are mounting a wonderful project that aims to honour the half century of achievements of Filipinos in Manitoba. From Manila to Manitoba will highlight 50 years of memories of Filipino- Canadians through various exhibits at the Manitoba Museum from summer to early fall this year.

Among the exhibits will be a Commemorative Wall where certain names will be inscribed. We all have our stories why we made Manitoba our home. Surely, there may be one or several people who influenced your decision to settle in this province. ANAK invites you to honour that person as the reason for your being a Filipino-Canadian. You can call us here at Pilipino Express if you wish to secure a name spot for the person you’d like to remember and honour.

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